Loyalty and Morality
by CasualLarper
Summary: An Orcish Legionnaire copes with the death of his family by reluctantly serving in Orgrimmars military. However, when he hears about the destructive, cruel, and gruesome details of an undercover operation being run by the military dubbed "The Project", he questions where his loyalties stand, and what he must do to save the lives of those who "The Project", will surely destroy.
1. The Project

Loyalty and Morality

Chapter 1: The Project

 _It is when we're on the brink of war, when men must put their differences aside and do what must be done for the greater good. It is when we're on the brink of war, where one must search within themselves to see where their loyalties truly stand. It is when we're on the brink of war, where we have to decide what's more important. Our lives, or our beliefs._

 _This is that story._

Antharg had been doing this job for 10 years. Commanding one of Orgrimmar's many platoons of war-hardened grunts. And yet he still questioned himself, whether he qualified for the grueling job or not.

At times, he felt he was too weak. When he had to make an executive decision, and lives were at stake. He felt that anyone else in the world would be doing a better job than him. And yet here he was. At the heart of Orgrimmar, within Grommash Hold. In the exact same spot, he would find himself sitting every year, by the round table, listening to the rest of Orgrimmars elite.

And every time, he told himself, "This is the day. This is the day", the day he would resign, the day he would free himself from these disgusting debates about whether or not they would spare the women and children in their next raid, the day he would grant himself peace of mind that he was no longer responsible for the horrible things these people were bound to do.

And yet, every year, it was the same thoughts. The same feelings that would keep him from doing such a thing. He would think about his wife and son, and how those Alliance dogs had taken them, and he would say to himself,

" _No, I can't stop fighting_. _Not now. Not ever"_

He indeed had a problem, and he recognized it. He thought that somehow, by helping killing all these innocent people, as the Alliance did to his family, that he would finally be put to rest.

In fact, this was one of his strengths. He wasn't afraid of dying. He did what he was told. Because, he knew that the moment he let his mind wander, he would become depressed, and the grieving would start all over again.

So, he always kept himself occupied. It was indeed, a battle he would have to fight for as long as he lived.

He was snapped back into the present, when his Superior, High Legionnaire Grimm, had slammed on the table furiously.

"We all recognize your lust for resources, Katram, but the preservation of the lumber in the southern Azshara area will cost too much!"

"Which I understand Grimm, but with the upcoming… _project."_ He said with utmost subtlety, "We'll need all the resources we can get!"

Antharg, even with his rank, still was not informed about this, _project_ that his superiors had been talking about for the past few months. Nor were any of the other Platoon commanders of his rank. And at times, they would gather and theorize what their superiors were talking about.

" _Something to do with bombs, perhaps?"_

" _Of course not! It must be regarding machines of some sort"_

" _Perhaps an experiment on the wildlife?"_

They would argue, but Antharg had suspected it was much more than that. Had it really been any of those things, he was certain that they would have been briefed about it already. When Antharg didn't know something, it scared him. As I stated before, he did not fear death, or anything of the like. However, what he did fear was one thing.

The unknown.

But it's not like he could walk up to his superior and ask him about what all of this was about, and its not like he could spy, or eavesdrop, or any of those things.

So, he would wait. Because when your family is dead, you hate your job, and there is a possibly life-threatening secret going around-

What else can you really do?


	2. Suck It Up

Loyalty and Morality

Chapter 2: Suck It Up

Aleena took one last sip of water out of her canteen. She savored the way it cooled her coarse, dry throat. And then she got up, picked up her satchel, and-

"Come on Aleena, we don't have all day. We need to get these moths back to camp and examined. Not to mention we have a significantly heavier load than when we were on our way here. I estimate it might take," Alten closed his eyes, doing calculations by some metric unknown to Aleena, or anybody else for that matter. "Roughly 2 hours to get back." He finally concluded. "So, let's get moving."

Biologist's assistant. Of all the jobs she could have picked, she HAD to pick Biologist's assistant.

" _Suck it up Aleena, suck it up",_ she told herself.

She started walking along the path through the thick and gloomy -yet somehow pretty at the same time- forests of Ashenvale, behind the head biologist, and her boss, Alten. Why he thought his calling was to collect bugs and examine them for a living? No one knew. But who was she to talk. She had more than ten job offers by the time she was 18. Hunter, Cook, Blacksmith, Guard, all things that she could be doing right now, but nope. Instead, she was walking on a dirty path, carrying a ten-pound bag full of moths in jars, getting her favorite tunic all grimy as she passed through the low-hanging vines.

"Hey, how long did you say this would take again!?" Aleena shouted out to Alten. With her sluggish manner and low endurance combined, she was a good ten meters behind him.

"About three hours!" Alten shouted back.

"Wait, didn't you say two hours a few minutes ago?"

"If you remembered, why did you ask the question?" Alten asked, looking back at her with a smug look on his face.

" _Well that was a confusing conversation",_ she thought herself. And by the end of it, she still didn't know whether it would take two hours, or three hours.

But Alten was like that. He was smart, but quirky. Curious, but at the same time somewhat carefree. But one thing was certain, he loved his job. And all Aleena wanted to do was plop in her cot back at the encampment and fall asleep.

She took a moment to look to her right, as something caught her eyes. Like a shadow passing through on the other side of the trees. It took her a moment to consider it, and then she became curious.

"Hey, did you just see that?" Aleena asked Alten, picking up her pace to cover the distance between her and her boss.

"See what?", he asked. And as he said that, it caught her eye again. There was definitely something on the other side of those trees.

"Get down!" Alten shouted at Aleena.

She crouched down at once, lifting her chin over the rock that she was hiding behind ever so slightly to satisfy her curiosity of what exactly that was.

And as it got closer, the sound of plate clanking, and greaves stomping was recognized by both Aleena and her boss.

 _Orcs._

Now she realized how dire this situation was. She concealed herself completely behind the large rock. If either her or Alten was caught, she knew that they would be captured, and taken who knows where immediately. She held her breath, counted her prayers, and all of a sudden, the clanking stopped. She could have sworn her heart stopped with it.

 _Did they see her?_

 _Did they see Alten?_

 _Did she make a noise without noticing it?_

All of these things ran through her mind, during a good ten seconds of silence, before one of the Orcs started speaking.

"Here. We'll start here."

"How do you know this is the right spot?"

"Because, I know things you do not. I've done this many times before, you should know."

"But, not with this much at stake, High Legionnaire."

"What do I have to lose, exactly? None of this means anything to me. A few deer, some moths, these trees? I couldn't care less"

"With all due respect sir, we don't yet know how far this could spread."

"Are you suggesting that we consider the lives of the elves living in the proximity of this area? I am not responsible for them. If they choose to live like animals, in a forest like this, with no civilization for miles, then let's be honest. They had it coming."

"That's bitter, Grimm, even for you."

"Don't waste your breath, Gonarr. Get the grunts, and start planting the seeds. We need to start the operation at once, before the foliage dries up."

"Of course, High Legionnaire. Lok'tar Ogar!"

"Lok'tar Ogar," The one she supposed to be named Grimm, said before continuing on along the path Aleena and Alten had just took.

However, the other orc stayed behind, and supposedly called back to another group of grunts waiting behind them. And it didn't look like they were planning on leaving anytime soon.

"Come on, we need to get out of here", whispered Alten. "The safest way is through the foliage. If we're lucky, and if we're fast enough, we'll get away."

"And what if we're not?"

"Then you know what happens, Aleena."

She had never been more scared in her life, to be quite frank. But she knew that if she stayed, she would be found, and killed. And therefore, her only chance was to get out of that place as fast as possible.

So, she took a deep breath, she counted her prayers one last time, she slowly raised up from behind the rock-

And she ran.


	3. An Item of Interest

Loyalty and Morality

Chapter 3: An Item of Interest

The loud sound of chatter throughout the hall filled Antharg's ears. Drinks being poured, waiters scrambling and getting in order. It truly was a sight. But not one that many are meant to see. Every year, a gala is held in Orgrimmar, where ambassadors of the Horde can meet, and discuss plans for the upcoming year. But mostly, it was drinking, eating, and dancing.

Being that it was Antharg's first time here, he was reluctant to begin a conversation, as he didn't want to come off as if he didn't know what he was doing. Not that it would be a lie, he really didn't know what he was doing. All he knew is that High Legionnaire Grimm had formally invited him to this gala, and upon receiving the invitation, Antharg was skeptical about the whole thing, but Grimm insisted that he come. So, he did.

He had been spending the first few hours on the balcony, watching as people entered conference rooms, carrying what seemed to be quite confidential files. And on the other side of the room, men and women dancing while holding ale. Quite an unorthodox sight, he thought to himself. But he became bored, and very hungry, looking at the food coming out of the kitchen, plate by plate.

So, he took a seat in a part of the room that seemed to be quieter than the rest. Not that it really mattered, as one by one, new guests started filling up the hall. People greeted each other at the door, and it seemed like the chatter would never end.

And yet, with all these distractions, Antharg still couldn't get his mind off one thing.

Why was he invited there?

He figured he should find Grimm. He didn't know how late the party would last, and he didn't want to waste any more hours sitting around, doing nothing. As he got up, he had bumped into a blood elf, causing the elf to drop his suitcase on the ground, spilling its contents.

"Forgive me sir, I must have lost myself in my thoughts for a second, I didn't see you there," Antharg hastily apologized, kneeling down to help pick up the documents, files, and other contents of the briefcase. A certain one caught his eye. It was labeled "side effects", with a big CONFIDENTIAL across the back of it, same as all the other papers.

"Oh, uh- d-don't worry about it," The blood elf said, sounding very nervous. He hastily picked up all the papers, shoved them into the briefcase, and walked off quickly, looking around him, as if he was making sure no one saw what happened.

"That was strange," Antharg said to himself. Side effects? Of what? A new disease that's spreading?

Then Antharg realized something. All the files had different labels, and supposedly different contents. But they all had one thing in common. At the very bottom, in small print, read-

"The Project."

Then, Antharg realized something else. He looked around him, glancing at all the briefcases around the room. At the bottom of each one, was a horde insignia, followed by the same words, in the same small print.

"The Project"

Impossible. Could it be that this entire gala was revolved around the same issue? Antharg thought to himself. He could only imagine what they were talking about in those conference rooms, behind those locked doors. What secrets they were discussing. That must have been why that elf seemed so nervous. Whatever this operation was, its confidentiality seemed to be of utmost importance.

Antharg's interest in "The Project" was already quite large. But finding out how secret it is, his curiosity was ignited. He had to find out what exactly the top generals of the Horde were planning, and how many lives it might threaten.

"Grimm." He thought. That was his key. Grimm was his key into the inside, and he had a plan. But first, he had to find Grimm.

He looked around at the bustling crowd. He couldn't find Grimm anywhere. He also recalled that he didn't see him enter any conference rooms either.

Antharg took a step outside for some fresh air and some time to think. He needed peace and quiet, all this came at him all of a sudden, and he needed to take it in.

" _Maybe it's none of my business, maybe what's confidential is meant to stay that way"_

But another part of him thought,

" _I need to know. This is exactly what I need to take my mind off of things"_

In the end, the fact that he could have been thrown in jail was the deciding factor. But, just as he was about to go back inside, and continue his charade of people-watching, something caught his attention.

It seemed to have been coming from the alleyway. Antharg stayed and listened closely to what the men were saying.

"By the end, if we don't have the results we need, and we've missed our chance, we're going to need to waste another dubious amount of resources making more seeds for the experiment. So, make sure your men plant them with utmost care."

"Again, Grimm, I understand. You don't need to tell me how important this is."

"Yes Thorig, I do. I can't stress this enough, okay? If this project fails, it's my last chance to prove myself to the Warchief. I can't have any more bad reputation after, _the incident_."

Antharg couldn't believe it. Grimm was at the heart of this entire thing. It was perfect. And he remembered what Grimm referred to as, _the incident_. Only a few years back, Grimm was accused of corruption and misuse of power, and he gained some bad reputation with most of his associates and superiors. And he hadn't had a big break since. He had been talking ever since about it, how he had to "prove himself". How long was he planning this?

"Don't lose them, okay? Don't open this damn briefcase until you're at the site. This is confidential, so much so, that I can't even be holding cargo like this in an ordinary conference room! You think I want to look like I'm doing some shady deal in the back end of an alley? No, but I have to. The amount of sheer uproar that would occur if this leaks, I shudder even thinking about it!"

"Okay sir, I understand, fully. I will treat the item of interest with utmost care."

"Good. Your ride to Ashenvale is waiting for you. Me and Gonarr have carefully chosen the spot, and the grunts have dug it out already. You just need have your men get the seeds in there. Easy, right?"

"Not at all sir, but I'll do my best"

"Good answer." Grimm replied, before handing Thorig the briefcase and walking back in Antharg's direction. Antharg quickly rushed back into the gala, and resumed his position by the balcony, as if nothing ever happened.

Grimm approached him. "We're done here. Thank you for your patience Antharg."

"Wait, sir, if I might ask, why did you bring me here?" Antharg asked Grimm as he got up.

"Because, Antharg. I grow old. My time in this position is limited. And quite frankly I think you would be a good candidate in a few years, when I take my leave."

"So, what, was this some kind of test?"

"You could say that." Grimm replied briefly before leaving the hall.

Antharg followed close behind him. High Legionnaire, huh? He liked the sound of that, but he knew that accepting the offer would only push him deeper into this pit that he dug himself into by not resigning for 10 years. And now that he was on the spot, he didn't know if he had the guts to do it at all.

By the time he got home, there was only one thing running circles over and over again in his mind. The seeds that Grimm was talking about.

How important could those seeds be that it would cause an uproar in the public? What did Grimm mean when he said, "Dubious amounts of resources." Just to make seeds? None of this added up. Antharg thought and thought as hard as he could, but he just couldn't crack it.

But then, out of nowhere, something snapped, and a second thought entered his mind

Poison.


	4. Down Under

Loyalty and Morality

Chapter 4: Down Under

She ran as fast as she could. She didn't stop, not even to check if they were still following her. She kept running for what she swore felt like hours, when in reality, it was no more than five minutes. She had lost track of Alten. The only thing on her mind was the rhythm of her boots on the ground.

 _Pit-pat-pit-pat-pit-pat-pit_

She didn't know when to stop. That is, until the rhythm of her boots was broken. She felt the ground disappear from under her feet, and before she knew it, her whole world was black.

She awoke with aches all over, not remembering what had happened. She attempted to grab ahold of anything in order to hoist herself up off the ground. She felt around. No trees, no vines, she didn't even feel any blades of grass. That's when she came to her senses. She remembered the ground disappearing form under her, and the way she blacked out. She looked up, but she didn't see the usual canopy above the high-reaching trees of Ashenvale. Instead, she saw a hole. And through it, the dim light of the sun showing through the canopy.

She had fallen into some kind of a pit, she realized. She tried her best to get herself up, but all that was around her was the dirt that must have collapsed when the ground caved in. Even though she could plainly see her legs still attached to her torso, they were so numb with pain they might as well not have been there. She felt as if she had been stabbed in the back ten times. There was no way Aleena was getting up.

So, she did the next best thing.

"HELP! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!" She yelled out at the top of her lungs, as loud as she could, her voice breaking as her face was stricken with tears.

She was scared. And she wasn't afraid to admit it. When nobody called back to her, she thought she was going to be stuck there until she starved.

"Please, dear Elune, I'm only 20 years old," She whispered to herself, clutching her broken arm. And as she said that, she heard something from back up above.

"Aleena! Where are you!?" It was Alten. She finally had hope.

"I'm down here!" She shouted. "I can't get up! I'm stuck!"

She saw someone peak their head over the edge of the hole she had fallen through.

"Finally! I've been looking for you for half an hour!" Alten shouted at her from above. "Can you get up!?"

"No, I think my arm is broken. Who knows what happened to my back and my legs," She cried out.

"Damn it, damn it," Alten mumbled to himself. He didn't know how he was going to get her out of there, or if he was going to be able to at all. If he was, he surely wasn't doing it alone.

"I'm going to need to go back to town for help!" He shouted down at her. "Do you think you'll be able to last about an hour!?"

She honestly wasn't sure. But there was no other way she was getting out of there. So, she called back at him, "Yeah, just hurry up, please!"

Alten threw his load on the ground and began sprinting back to the encampment.

After a few minutes, Aleena realized how grueling it would be to last an hour. She crawled over to the cold, rock walls of the pit, and rested her back against it, it felt good. After a few more minutes, she closed her eyes. She had never been able to take time like this, alone, just her and her mind.

Being stuck in this pit, it reignited some memories from her childhood. Most, ones she didn't want to remember.

" _Mommy, when is daddy going to come? He said he'd come this time."_

" _He says that every year, honey."_

" _But he promised."_

" _Your father isn't coming, Aleena."_

" _Yes he is!" Young Aleena ran out of her and her mother's tent and went to the same tree she did every year. So many of her birthdays, wasted on hope that her father would come. And yet every time, she was disappointed. Her father never came, and by the time she was 11, she realized he never would. She never cared for birthday gifts like all the other night elf children that she lived with. All she wanted was for her family to be complete._

" _Poor girl," Her mother sorrowfully whispered to herself, on the verge of tears. She never told her little girl that her father had died before she was born. Instead, she told her the same thing every year. "You know your father is fighting the bad guys far away, honey. I know for a fact he'd come if he could." But the truth, was that he had died doing that exact thing only weeks after she was pregnant with Aleena._

 _Instead of having memories of joyful, and happy birthdays every year, all she had memories of was crying on her mother's shoulder, wishing that her father would come._

She was snapped out of her trance when she heard rustling from above, and after that, the sound of wolves growling and clawing at trees. She knew that the Orcs were after her. The wolves must have tracked down her scent. She crawled as fast as she could to the far side of the giant hole she was stuck in, as to not be seen by the Orcs. She didn't imagine she ever would, but at this exact moment the last thing she wanted was for Alten and whoever he got to help her to come at this exact moment. She waited, and waited, and waited…

"Either she's not here, or she's long dead in this hole, sir."

"Are you sure of that? Grimm will have my head if he finds out I let somebody hear the information we discussed."

"I'm sure."

"Good. Then let's get back and get digging before dark. We don't have all day people, let's go!" And with that, the Orcs finally left.

"Phew," She dodged a bullet there. But the pain in her arm was becoming unbearable. She knew she'd have to endure it as long as she could. "Just a little while longer, I'm sure they'll be here soon." She told herself.

She needed to take her mind off of the pain. And she was left with her memories once again.

" _Mommy, I wanna be a plant scientist when I grow up!"_

" _If you're going to be a "plant scientist," you're going to need to know what they're called, honey."_

" _Plant scientist?"_

" _They're called Botanists. And its not an easy job, you know."_

 _But four-year-old Aleena believed anything was possible. Now she knew that all the fantasies she had as a child were never going to happen. But at heart, Aleena always kept a piece of her inner child. Her curiosity, her naiveite. She thought it kept her sharp, and aware. And it did, but it also made sure she never forgot all the things that her mom taught her, which was a lot of things._

 _Since she never had a father figure, and her village didn't have a school, her mother had to do all her teaching. And yet even with all these handicaps, she was one of the smartest children of her age. And she had her mother to thank for all of it. And she loved her mother, but she hadn't talked to her in 2 years._

 _When she was 18, she was looking through her mothers' drawers to find a nice dress to wear to her ceremony. But instead, she found a paper. A paper that stated,_

" _To the wife of Elandrel Goodmoon. Your husband died in battle as of 2 weeks ago. The memorial will be held in one week's time, and he will receive the troop's highest salute. Best of luck,_

 _Commander Belorandor"_

 _She read through the whole letter, but nothing caught her eyes except two things. "Your husband died in battle", and the date. 18 and a half years ago._

 _She couldn't believe it. She was devastated. When she was late to her ceremony, her mother came to check on her. She found her crying on her bed. Aleena turned around to look at her._

" _How long were you going to keep this from me!?" She said through tears. But before her mother could even answer, Aleena was storming out of the tent. She grabbed her bag, ran away, and accepted a job as a biologist's assistant. Because at the time, she never wanted to talk to her mother again, and she wasn't thinking straight. Two months later, her mother died of a fungal disease. Aleena never recovered. It was tragedy after tragedy, her whole life. And it all led up to this one moment. She was stuck in a pit, full of pain, not knowing what to do._

"Aleena!" Someone shouted from above. "I brought help!"

Two guards came up to the edge of the pit, and through down a rope ladder. One of them climbed down, hoisted her up on his shoulder, and carried her out of there. As soon as she was out of the pit, a breeze of fresh air blew against her face. She didn't realize how hot it was in there until she was out.

By the time they carried her back to town, it was almost midnight. They took her to a doctor, and she was given oodles of medications, that she didn't even understand the names of. Most of their tastes made the pain in her arm pale in comparison.

Once the doctors had finished wrapping her up and forcing her to take the medicines, they left her for the night, so she could sleep.

"You need rest," they said.

But even though just hours earlier, sleeping was all Aleena wanted to do, now she couldn't fall asleep for the life of her.

So, she hoisted herself out of the bed, and walked out of the tent.

She limped over to her favorite tree. The same tree she had sat every year during her childhood, during all of her birthdays.

The memories had flowed into her mind. Each one fitting into the next.

Just as it should be.


End file.
